The present invention relates in general to a template assembly and method for marking field lines on a football playing surface and the like. More specifically, the present invention provides means to efficiently and accurately create and construct field lines of the type commonly appearing on a football playing surface, in addition to possessing features for compact handling and storage during nonuse thereof.
Many field sports like football and soccer are played on a playing surface comprised of either natural or artificial turf. As in most instances, a professional as well as a college level athlete will be provided an opportunity to play on an artificial surface, while a high school player or a little leaguer will find himself or herself playing on a natural surface such a grass. Although great strides have been made regarding the playing surface insofar of providing a more playable surface for the athlete, little or no efforts have been made concerning the efficiency in which to mark or place field lines and the like on a playing surface, particularly of the type used in the sport of football. Regardless of the playing surface, whether it is artificial or natural, the marking of field lines is typically performed using some sort of marking template. In some cases, the template may comprise simply of a sheet of plywood having a series of apertures extending therethrough, generally resembling the geometric configuration of the lines to be marked on the playing surface. In other, but more advanced cases, a machine capable of spot marking the field line may be employed and will generally comprise of rather complicated means to guide the machine for accurate placement of the field lines on the playing surface. However, as with most marking machines of this nature, they can be expensive to maintain and operate and cumbersome to maneuver about the field; and, therefore, their application on the field may be limited to those institutions having ample budgets. Given this limitation, a marking template as hereinbefore described is preferably utilized over a field line marking machine due to its predominate features of being affordable, portable for transport, simple to use, and reasonably compact for storage during nonuse, particularly during the off season. In a typical scenario of using a marking template, one set of field lines will be created using the template, with subsequent field lines being created by situating one of the apertures over a freshly marked line and one of the edges of the template abutting a known reference point, both serving as effective means to guide and align the same for accurate placement of the next set of field lines. This process continues up and down the entire length of the playing field for at least four rounds, with a series of field lines being situated along the entire length of the two sidelines and an equal number substantially placed in the middle of the field, generally referred to as the inbound lines. As one can imagine, this can be a tedious process and if there is little to no attention to detail by the grounds crew, the playing surface may comprise simply of inaccurate placed field lines, which cannot be easily and readily altered or replaced due to the permanency of most marking media. Another drawback of using a plywood template is that it can be rather cumbersome to use and store due to its weight and size, respectively. In addition to some of the known shortcomings of marking templates presently known in the art, some marking templates may be prone more than others in creating a field line bearing an offset shadow or distorted image, which generally occurs if using a template having ample thickness on an elevated grass surface and in other cases where moderately windy conditions persist during the marking of field lines.
In accordance with the present invention, applicant has appreciably devised a template assembly and method for accurate placement of field lines on a playing surface, particularly of the type used on a football playing surface, with no substantial appearance of the marked field line being unduly shadowed or distorted. Furthermore, the template assembly is readily made compact for long- and short-term storage and easily transported as a result of being inherently constructed of light-weighted materials.
In order to overcome the numerous drawbacks apparent in the prior art, a template assembly has been devised for use in creating and placing field lines on a playing surface, particularly of the type commonly used in the game of football.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a low cost, non-complicated template assembly which may be reliably used to accurately establish hash lines of the type commonly appearing on a football playing field, specifically along and near the sidelines and substantially at midfield of the playing surface, generally known in the art as inbound lines.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a template assembly which affords versatility in terms of functioning in varied climatic, windy conditions.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a template assembly which is capable of being securely fastened to the playing surface to eliminate the occurrence of inadvertent movement thereof for more accurate placement of field lines about the playing surface.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a template assembly which possesses the capacity to substantially eliminate the occurrence and appearance of a shadowed or distorted field line.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a template assembly which accomplishes the foregoing and other objects and advantages and which is economical, durable, and fully effective in performing its intended functions.
In accordance with the present invention, a template assembly has been devised for use in creating and spatially establishing field lines on a playing surface, particularly hash lines at the sidelines and substantially at midfield of a football playing surface, the template assembly comprising in combination at least one marking template comprising a pair of side rails and a pair of end rails integrally connected at their ends to substantially form a rectangular-configured frame; and a plurality of marking pans situated within and fixedly attached to the rectangular-configured frame, each having a bottom facing plate and an upwardly extending wall along the perimeter thereof to substantially form a receptacle for holding and collecting marking media used in establishing the field line, the facing plate comprising a rectangular-shaped opening substantially equivalent to the width and length of a field line typically appearing on a football playing surface.